Venice considers special rule for pain clinics

Published: Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 4:58 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 4:58 p.m.

VENICE - If a new pain management clinic opens in Venice, city planners want to make sure it is legitimate and in an appropriate location.

On Tuesday, the Planning Commission — which advises the City Council on land use matters — discussed a possible law that would require any future pain management clinics to obtain a “special exception.”

If their properties are properly zoned, other medical establishments — such as a dentist’s or surgeon’s office — still may be allowed by obtaining a permit. For pain management clinics, however, the “special exception” process would require reviews by the Planning Commission and City Council during public hearings.

But it could also give the city an opportunity to screen out clinics that could instead be “pill mills” that over-prescribe painkillers and attract addicts, they noted.

More stringent regulations of pain management clinics by the state and Sarasota County will continue to apply in Venice, City Attorney Robert Anderson said.

Anderson suggested a city law because the county and the city of North Port have already adopted the “special exception” requirement for new pain clinics.

To avoid that scrutiny, someone wanting to operate a questionable pain management clinic in the South County may instead look at Venice — where no special exception law is on the books, Anderson said.

Adopting such a law would also enable the city “to regulate their location and number,” Anderson said.

“We are trying to discourage the pill mills,” Planning Commissioner Shaun Graser said. “They will go to the areas of least resistance. . . . Unfortunately, the legal ones have to go through the same hoops.”

The County Commission recently granted a special exception for a pain management clinic for which there was overwhelming support at a public hearing, said Chad Minor, Venice’s community development director.

The municipalities of Sarasota and Longboat Key have not adopted special exception rules for pain clinics, Minor said.

Anderson said he will recommend an expiration date for Venice’s law so that it will have to come up for review.

<p><em>VENICE</em> - If a new pain management clinic opens in Venice, city planners want to make sure it is legitimate and in an appropriate location.</p><p>On Tuesday, the Planning Commission — which advises the City Council on land use matters — discussed a possible law that would require any future pain management clinics to obtain a “special exception.”</p><p>If their properties are properly zoned, other medical establishments — such as a dentist's or surgeon's office — still may be allowed by obtaining a permit. For pain management clinics, however, the “special exception” process would require reviews by the Planning Commission and City Council during public hearings.</p><p>The “extra hoop” means extra legal expenses for any legitimate clinic, planning commissioners admitted.</p><p>But it could also give the city an opportunity to screen out clinics that could instead be “pill mills” that over-prescribe painkillers and attract addicts, they noted.</p><p>More stringent regulations of pain management clinics by the state and Sarasota County will continue to apply in Venice, City Attorney Robert Anderson said.</p><p>Anderson suggested a city law because the county and the city of North Port have already adopted the “special exception” requirement for new pain clinics.</p><p>To avoid that scrutiny, someone wanting to operate a questionable pain management clinic in the South County may instead look at Venice — where no special exception law is on the books, Anderson said.</p><p>Adopting such a law would also enable the city “to regulate their location and number,” Anderson said.</p><p>“We are trying to discourage the pill mills,” Planning Commissioner Shaun Graser said. “They will go to the areas of least resistance. . . . Unfortunately, the legal ones have to go through the same hoops.”</p><p>The County Commission recently granted a special exception for a pain management clinic for which there was overwhelming support at a public hearing, said Chad Minor, Venice's community development director.</p><p>The municipalities of Sarasota and Longboat Key have not adopted special exception rules for pain clinics, Minor said.</p><p>Anderson said he will recommend an expiration date for Venice's law so that it will have to come up for review.</p>